ANIMAL AND PLANT ADAPTATIONS



ANIMAL AND PLANT ADAPTATIONS

POLLINATION PROJECT

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OBJECTIVE: Identify and describe the advantages of animal adaptations and evaluate the importance of the adaptations to the symbiotic relationship with plants for pollination.

GOAL: Students will design and create an imaginary plant that attracts an imaginary animal in order for it to help in pollination.

Adaptation: a feature of an organism that enables it to survive in a given environment.

Pollination: the process by which eggs in the ovaries are fertilized by the pollen from the stamen producing a seed.

INTRODUCTION:

Let’s say you are Mother Nature, and you want to design the perfect plant to develop a cozy relationship with a certain kind of animal. What things would you need to consider? The plant’s structures? The animal’s body structures? How do you attract an animal to get it to help the plant reproduce?

PART 1:

Read the description of your imaginary animal. Analyze the adaptations of your imaginary animal. Complete the chart below.

|Locomotion |Size |Coloration |Body Covering |Mechanism or mechanisms by which the |Animal Classification/ Specific Criteria |

| | | | |pollinator carries the pollen to the next | |

| | | | |plant | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

Using your list of adaptations, create a visual representation of your “new” animal by drawing, sculpting, modeling, making a collage, making a mobile, paper mache….. You may choose any visual aid you like provided that it shows your animal’s adaptations.

PART 2:

Now you will design and create a plant with reproductive structures which could appropriately attract, reward and make efficient use of your imaginary animal as a pollinator. Consider color, scent, and structure typical of animal pollinated plants (see text and other resources found on ackscience. in the Plant Science Unit) and those structures that would be adapted to your imaginary animal in order to be able to help pollinate your plant.

Plant Adaptation Research

|Attracting the Pollinator | |

| | |

|Coloration/ Visual Cues | |

| | |

|Olfactory Cues | |

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|Shape | |

| | |

|Rewards for Pollinator | |

| | |

|Other | |

| | |

. PART 3:

Construct a 3-D model of your plant using materials that can be found in the classroom along with other common materials from home (look in junk drawers or craft boxes). Anything is possible. Your plant should be life-size and none of the plants will be larger than 1 foot by 1 foot. Your plant must include all of the reproductive structures necessary for pollination to occur (label).

Angiosperm: pistil, ovaries, eggs, petal, sepal, stamen, anther, pollen, stem, leaf

Gymnosperm: male and female cones, pollen, ovule, needles, stem

PART 4:

Attached to your visual should be a note card in which you write the features/ structures and adaptations and explain their significance. You should have a note card for both the plant and the animal.

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

DUE DATE:

Students may work in pairs on this assignment if they so desire. However, as this is a choice, no concessions will be made for pair difficulties such as one partner doing all the work or being absent on the due date, etc.

I understand the project requirements and understand that I will be required to complete the majority of this project at home (there will be some class time to work on this project). I understand this project will be 35% of my science average.

X ____________________________________________________________________________________

|PROJECT REQUIREMENTS |A+ |B |C |D |

|PART 1: |Shows ALL of your animal’s |Shows most of your animal’s |Shows some of your animal’s |Shows some of your animal’s |

|Animal |adaptations, creative |adaptations, creative |adaptations. |adaptations, messy |

|PART 2: |Your plant shows that it can attract, |Your plant shows that it can attract, |Your plant shows that it can attract |Your plant shows that it can |

|Plant Adaptations |reward and make efficient use of your |reward and make efficient use of your |and reward. Color, scent, shape, |attract and reward. Some of the |

| |imaginary animal as a pollinator. |imaginary animal as a pollinator. |visual cues, olfactory cues and other|following were NOT considered: |

| |Color, scent, shape, visual cues, |Color, scent, shape, visual cues, |structures were considered. |Color, scent, shape, visual cues, |

| |olfactory cues and other structures |olfactory cues and other structures | |olfactory cues and other |

| |were considered. The adaptations of |were considered. | |structures. |

| |your imaginary animal were considered | | | |

| |to help pollinate your plant. | | | |

|PART 3: |All structures are present and labeled|Most structures are present and labeled|Missing or mislabeled structures |Missing or mislabeled structures, |

|Plant Model |correctly, very creative |correctly, creative | |messy |

|PART 4: |The features/ structures and |The features/ structures and |The features/ structures and |The features/ structures and |

|Symbiotic Relationship (notecards) |adaptations and significance are |adaptations and significance are |adaptations are listed. |adaptations are listed but missing|

| |explained thoroughly. A definite |explained. | |important information. |

| |close relationship established. | | | |

Animal 1: This animal has a long thin beak and a fuzzy head with tufts of short feathers. It cannot hover like a hummingbird but must land on something to gather food and perform pollination-related functions.

Animal 2: This animal is very small. Its entire wing span measures about 6 inches. Because of its size it likes to spend the night inside some of the larger, more exotic flowers of plants. It cannot hover like a hummingbird and its beak is short.

Animal 3: This animal is medium in size with very busy feathers. It can hover like a hummingbird but has a short beak. This animal has a very good sense of scent but cannot see colors.

Animal 4: This animal cannot fly. It has very tall stick like legs. It has a very long neck as well as a long beak. This particular animal has no sense of smell and its eyesight is very poor. This animal, however, recognizes a certain pattern on the plant that lets the animal know that this is a food source.

Animal 5: This animal is small and because of its size is considered very easy prey by some of the local predators. Therefore, this animal must collect its food at night. It has a short beak but has a full head of bushy feathers. This animal is attracted to fruity or musky scents.

Animal 6: This animal is very small. Has long spike like body covering to protect it from predators. Its feet have claws but only to be able to climb high into trees. This animal has a good sense of smell and recognizes texture. This animal has long nails for reaching and collecting sap.

Animal 7: Although this animal is small in size its wing span can be about 4 inches in length. This animal is brightly colored and is light in weight. This animal because it’s curled up straw like structure is located on the underneath of the animal must have a landing space to land and drink.

Animal 8: This animal is the smallest, no bigger than your little pinky fingernail. This animal only sees UV light and cannot see red. This animal is attracted to spicy or sweet smells. It has have a short proboscis, must be able to land and crawl.

Animal 9: This animal scurries around on the forest floor and is brightly colored. It uses the plant’s coloring as camouflage, while hiding from predators this animal then transfers pollen from plant to plant.

Animal 10: This animal is pale yellow to ivory in color and has a rather long proboscis 12 inch when stretched out. The animal’s wing span is about 5 inches and gathers nectar at night due to its coloration.

Animal 11: This animal’s adaptations for pollination include a pointed snout, an extremely long tongue, grasping feet, and a prehensile tail that allows it to hang from the branches of trees as it searches for flowers.

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